1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an infrared controller. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of identifying the brand name and transmission mode of an infrared transmission head.
2. Description of Related Art
Due to the variety of manufacturers, each infrared transmission head is manufactured according to their own specification and often create incompatibility between an infrared controller manufactured by one company with an infrared transmission head manufactured by another company. Furthermore, a conventional brand name infrared controller requires a South Bridge control chipset to provide 8 leads for coupling with an infrared transmission head. In general, these leads provided by the South Bridge control chipset are used to identify the brand name of the infrared transmission head. Most manufacturers of the infrared transmission heads choose an infrared controller design of its own and fix the potential level on each of these leads so that an infrared transmission head manufactured by the particular manufacturer can be easily identified. However, such arrangements lead to additional manufacturing cost for the South Bridge control chipset. Moreover, due to difficulties in identifying the brand name of an infrared transmission head just by their external appearance, a wrong infrared transmission head may couple with an infrared controller and increase installation difficulty.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional connection between an infrared controller 100 and an infrared transmission head 300. As shown in FIG. 1, a South Bridge chipset 400 provides eight leads to the infrared controller 100. Information regarding the brand name and transmission mode of the particular infrared transmission head 300 is received via the output terminals 30, 40, 50 and 60 of the South Bridge chipset 400. Voltages at the output terminals 30, 40, 50 and 60 are set up in accordance with the design of various infrared controller manufacturers. In other words, the infrared controller determines the type of transmission and coupling with the infrared transmission head. Consequently, the infrared controller may operate with an infrared transmission head having a brand name identical to the infrared controller only.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an alternative conventional connection between an infrared controller and an infrared transmission head. As shown in FIG. 2, the brand name and transmission mode of the infrared transmission head 300 are determined by the output voltages at the output terminals 30, 40, 50 and 60. Voltages at the output terminals 30, 40, 50 and 60 are set up in accordance with the design of infrared transmission head manufacturers. In other words, the infrared transmission head determines the type of transmission and coupling with the infrared controller. Consequently, the infrared transmission head may operate only when driven by an infrared controller having a brand name identical to the infrared transmission head only.
In brief, the conventional method of connecting up the infrared controller and infrared transmission head often leads to incompatibility problems due to non-uniform design specifications provided by each infrared controller and infrared transmission head manufacturer. Hence, a simple and effective transmission method for determining the brand name of an infrared transmission head, appropriately corresponding with an infrared controller and at the same time supporting any transmission/reception functions is in demand.